Atlanta Trolley Tour Line is back for its second season.

Atlanta Trolley Tour Line announces 2009 schedule and tours.
Atlanta Trolley Tour Line is back for its second season.

The Atlanta Trolley Tour Line is back for its second season. The Atlanta based tour service began operating January 16, 2008 and has just celebrated it first year of operation. In its first year it has service almost 10,000 visitors to the city.

“Our service is now entering its second year and we are very excited to be a part of Atlanta’s tourism community” said Joseph St. Jean who is owner of the tour service. “Our first year of operation has been an amazing adventure. It’s been overwhelming.” “We have had a great success and look forward to the 2009 season.”

The local sightseeing service is the first time that many of the major attractions in the city have been connected together by a tour. Visitors and locals alike can now take a trolley tour around the city and get a great overview of Atlanta’s history. The tour has 14 stops on the route. If a rider wanted to visit an attraction on the route they can get of the tour at their stop and then reboard at a later time and continue.

“This is a service this city has needed for a long time,” said St. Jean. Mr. St. Jean is a native of Boston Massachusetts where he studied at Harvard University. “It was at Harvard that I discovered my love for history,” said St. Jean. It is also when he began working for a trolley tour company located in Boston. After graduation he continued to work for the tour company but only in Key West FL. He came to Atlanta to work at the no longer existing SciTrek Museum. “Within six months of moving to Atlanta I was without a job and then 9/11 happened and we all know what happened to the job market after that event.” Mr. St. Jean then managed a small tour company in Atlanta for a couple years before setting of on his own. “The idea came to me while I was working on my MBA. I wrote my business and marketing plan for the company during that time.”

“The Atlanta Trolley Tour Line is ideal for tourists and residents living in Atlanta because it offers two great services all in one trip. The trolleys provide transportation while sightseeing around the city with a well-educated tour guide,” Mr. St Jean said. “Our goal is to give the visitors to Atlanta an educational and entertaining trip while at the same time promoting the city and all it has to offer in a positive and exciting manner.”

With the start of its second Atlanta Trolley Tour Line is adding Atlanta’s first ever Haunted History Tour. On this 2 ½ tour guests will hear tales of spirits, hauntings, mysteries, murders, suicide, war, fire, monsters and other stories of the Atlanta one would never hear on an average tour. The tour starts at the Visitor’s Center located at Underground Atlanta and guests will ride through downtown to Oakland Cemetery.
Oakland Cemetery is the final resting place of many of Atlanta's settlers, builders, and noted citizens like Bobby Jones, Margaret Mitchell, and Maynard Jackson. It is also home to over 7,000 Atlanta’s Confederate Dead. At Oakland guests will learn of 19th century burial customs as well as tales of the residents who call Oakland home.
Guest will then continue their tour through downtown to the State Capitol Building where they will take a tour from the Capitol to Underground Atlanta. Beneath the streets of Atlanta guests will here tales of haunting and characters of Atlanta.
“We are really excited to be partnering with both Oakland and Underground for this tour,” Said St. Jean. “ The company was looking for partners it could work with and both these locations where chosen because of the unique history provided by each location.”
“A portion of your ticket cost will be donated to Oakland Cemetery for the Historic Oakland Foundation,” Mr. St. Jean said. “This will contribute to the preservation and education of one of Atlanta’s most treasured historic locations, especially after last year’s tornado.” “I was watching the news several nights after the tornado hit and they were highlighting how badly Oakland was hit and the damage the tornado caused. It was then that I knew I wanted to include Oakland in this venture and to create a way to raise some funds for the cemetery.” “Oakland is a vital link to Atlanta’s history. It is Atlanta’s history.”

The Atlanta Trolley Tour Line operates from the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau visitor’s center located at Underground Atlanta on Pryor Street seven days a week with 4-6 tours on a daily basis. Tickets can be purchased on the same day customers plan to ride the trolley or they can purchase them on line. The tour takes about an hour and a half to ride and leaves from stop number one located Pryor and Alabama Streets.

Tours generally start between 9:00 and 10:00 AM and conclude around 5:00 PM. Guests have the opportunity to get off at different location and spend time visiting the sites. Guests will be picked up from the location by a trolley at a later time.

Reservations are required for the Haunted History Tour. To make a reservation just call the SPIRT LINE at Atlanta Trolley Tour Line. They tour may not be suitable for kids under 12 years of age. “ Reservadotions are ready coming and we even have some old out nights,” Mr. St. Jean ‘ We are very excited by the early response to this tour.”